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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The hot weather and my new found energy during pregnancy helped me to get out of the house yesterday and take a hike at White Ranch Open Space Park. This is a trail system which I have frequented before, and it doesn't disappoint, especially in the spring/summertime with fields of blooming flowers, green mountains and great views! I managed to get out the door by 9am and made it to the trailhead just after 9:30am, I was surprised to see so many cars at the trailhead on a Tuesday morning, but somehow I didn't see anyone during my hike on the trail. White Ranch is part of the Jefferson County Open Space Trail System and provides trail maps at the main parking lot; I grabbed a map and started out on the trail with both dogs. We hiked the .25 miles to the restrooms and then started off on the Rawhide trail going north, I took this trail 2.2 miles until it intersected with the Waterhole Trail for .6 miles then back to Rawhide for the approx 1.6 miles back to the parking lot. The round trip loop was 4.4 miles according to the park maps.

Getting there: There are two sections of White Ranch Park, what I call the upper and lower sections. The lower section can be accessed by Hwy 93 just north of Golden, click here for my blog with info on the lower park. The Upper part of the Park can be reached by taking 93 North in Golden, to Golden Gate Canyon Road, turn west onto Golden Gate Canyon Road; take this road 4.1 miles to a fork/right turn onto Crawford Gulch Road (Highway 57) and continue up the road following the signs to the park. Approximately 4 miles from the turn; make another right turn onto Belcher Hill Road and this will dead end at the park. From the entrance into Golden Gate Canyon, there are obvious signs from then entrance of the canyon to the park, you should have no problems if you watch for the brown park signs. Specs: Check the Open Space website and trail map here. There are pit toilets, picnic tables, and campsites (which are hike in, free, and you can reserve them online). Also, there are over 10 miles of trails within the system.

The Hike: It was such a beautiful, warm and sunny day on Tuesday when I hit the trail at 9:30am and I was so glad to be outside enjoying the fresh air and summer wildflowers, and so were the dogs. Rock was smiling and Belle was so excited she would look at me and spin in circles, tangling her leash. I decided to head north on the trail guessing it would be the least crowded, and I was right. The valley below was bright green, and filled with wildflowers; I wish I better knew the names of the flowers. Please comment if you know one of them!

Here you can see all the way out to Denver; the smoke from the Arizona/New Mexico wildfires have made the sky hazy.

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Rock, a very happy dog near the start of the trail. This trail winds through valleys and pine forest for a good blend of sun and shade.

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Some pretty yellow flowers filling a field, I am not sure what these are, but they look like snapdragons.

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A robins egg shell along the side of the trail, I love the bright blue and the contrast against the green grass!

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Apple blossom, or crab apple blossom along the trail entering the forest.

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Where's the deer? See them? Belle sure did and was ready to run, however Rock wasn't sure what Belle was looking at and wanted to keep hiking until a breeze came and she could smell them!

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More beautiful flowers along the trail, these purple wildflowers were everywhere.

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Very very happy doggies! And the views behind them are overlooking central Golden.

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Another amazing flower that I don't know the name of, I need a pocket wildflower guide for Colorado or something. Anyone know what this beauty is?

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Water pump at the campground, it wasn't working when I went past it, or I couldn't pump it fast enough; either way, we didn't get any water and I was hoping to cool down Rock by getting her wet. Instead, she chose to cool herself down shortly after the campground; she found a bog and jumped into it. Unfortunately, the bog was in a ravine, it was very deep, muddy and gross, and she got stuck and couldn't get out, I had to go down and pull her out of the bog by her shoulders. She was a muddy mess, but much cooler and happier.

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A photo of me at 19 weeks pregnant. We aren't finding out the sex of the baby, so it will be a surprise. Baby seemed to enjoy hiking cause mama did!

If you have frequented White Ranch, have any questions or want to post a comment, please do so! I love to hear your experiences on the trail.

If you are looking for a flower guide there are hundreds, but here are a couple of suggestions. If you want a color picture guide i've found 'Rocky Mountain Flora' by James Ells to be a good one book choice. It has about 700 different species with good pictures. The descriptions aren't always the best, but if you're not looking to get too specific with your id this is an excellent book.

If you prefer flower descriptions try G.K. Guennel's two volume 'Guide to Colorado Wildflowers'. Has much better descriptions of plants than above. Doesn't have as many species, but contains very good drawings of plants and often contains a picture also.

Lastly, if you prefer something that fits in a pocket, then check out 'Rocky Mountain Flower Finder' (for plants found below treeline) and 'Alpine Flower Finder' (for those above treeline) by Janet L. Wingate. These two are plant keys, but are quite easy to follow. They have info about plant parts, and the different plant families. By answering questions about the plants flower and leaves the book will help you figure out what plant it is. It won't always tell you exactly which plant you are looking at, but it gets you very close. Contains no pictures , but very good illustrations and descriptions.

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Welcome, I am
Jennifer a new mother to
Magnolia and wife to my husband Joshua - Hiking, camping and photography are some of my favorite things to do; I also enjoy blogging, gardening, and
spending time outside enjoying nature. Check out more information about me and about my nature photo prints or photography sessions for all occasions!